What's Not: Does not function as a dock so you'll need to recharge or power your device separately. Cradle supports most naked devices, but isn't wide enough to support larger cases.

Reviewed by Tom Slayton

The Mo' Beats portable Bluetooth speaker stand is a great way to watch or listen to your portable device in stereo while on the go. It's rechargeable, sturdy, and supports most devices as long as they're not encumbered by a case (although smaller cases will fit nicely).

Size and Fit

The Mo' Beats is 9 " wide, which provides plenty of stability for even full-sized tablets in landscape mode. For portrait mode, iLuv has thoughtfully included a retractable brace on the rear of the unit to prevent it from becoming unstable when tall devices are used. The space that is designed to hold your device in-place is " deep, which will accommodate nearly all naked devices, but is unlikely to securely hold tablets that are housed in bulky or portfolio cases. This is the Mo' Beats only real flaw, but it's a big one. How difficult would it have been to make it even " wider? This would have allowed it to accommodate nearly every case on the market.

Features and Quality

The Mo' Beats paired effortlessly with my iPad. Your experience isn't guaranteed to be as smooth. If it's not, however, don't blame the Mo' Beats; blame your device. The sound quality is excellent for a portable device. The sound doesn't degrade noticeably at high volumes and because the speakers are 9 " apart, the stereo separation is fantastic. The bass is a little thin, but only compared to larger non-portable, non-Bluetooth devices. There are always going to be tradeoffs for portability, and the Mo' Beats functions well within what I consider to be acceptable limits for this category of speakers. Lastly, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the housing is made of brushed aluminum, not plastic. Not only does it look nice, but it also provides strength and rigidity; both of which are important for anything that is asking you to let it hold your $500+ piece of electronics. Lastly, if your device doesn't support Bluetooth, you can make use of the Mo' Beats' aux-in port.

Style

The Mo' Beats is crafted out of a single piece of aluminum. This provides both strength and beauty, and lends the device an air of sophistication, which is, unfortunately, somewhat reduced by the large, friendly iLuv stamped on the front (although, you can hardly blame them for putting their name on it).

Summary

The Mo' Beats is a well-made and capable Bluetooth speaker stand that allows you to use your device in both portrait and landscape modes. It sounds good for a portable speaker, is rechargeable, and its aluminum housing has a quality look/feel to it. I found the Bluetooth connection to be effortless to set-up, and very robust, even from across the room. In spite of its virtues, however, I can't recommend it to everybody due to its inability to support bulky and portfolio tablet cases.